By the Blood
by dandycandy13
Summary: Jack runs away from all his troubles only to realize deserting Gwen and Rhys really wasn't the smartest decision he'd ever made. Not long after his return another familiar face arrives at the Hub's front door. Following Children of Earth (refers to "House of the Dead" radio play and some facts from Miracle Day).
1. Alonso

**_Preface: This Planet is Too Small_**

_"This planet is too small. The whole world is like a graveyard."_

_"Come back with us."_

_"I haven't traveled far enough yet. I've got a lot of dirt to shake off my shoes." Jack nodded at Gwen. "And right now, there's a cold fusion freighter surfing the ion reeves, just on the edge of the Sol system. Just waiting to open its transport dock; I just need to send a signal."_

_Gwen smiled and held up her forefinger in Jack's face. She reached into her right-hand coat pocket and pulled out a familiar leather strap. Unfolding it, she said, "I found it in the wreckage. Indestructible. I can sew and I put on a new strap for you."_

_"Cost me fifty quid that!"_

_"Bill me!"_

_"Are you ever coming back, Jack?"_

_"What for?"_

_"Me. It wasn't your fault," she said as tears began to fall from her eyes._

_"I think it was."_

_"No," she shook her head._

_"Steven. And Ianto. And Owen. And Tosh. And Suzie. And…" He looked away. "All of them, because of me."_

_"But you…you saved us, didn't you?"_

_"I began to like it," Jack nodded. "And look what I became. Still, I have lived so many lives. It's time to find another one." He took a step back from Gwen and pushed a button on the vortex manipulator now strapped to his wrist._

_"But they died, and I am sorry, Jack, but you cannot just run away. You cannot run away," Gwen pleaded through teary eyes._

_"Oh yes I can," Jack said as light beams surrounded him. "Just watch me." And the light engulfed him, shooting like a rocket into the sky. No more than a twinkling star in the distances. When he was gone, Gwen finally broke. Huge sobs, with tears running down her cheeks. Rhys stepped forward and lay a comforting hand on her back._

_"Let's go home, yeah?"_

_Gwen nodded, turning to her husband. She placed a hand on either side of his chin, before looking at the sky once more. "Yeah." She looked down and turned around. Rhys put his hand on her shoulder and led her down the hillside, but she turned back to watch the sky where Jack had disappeared as they went, before turning back to wrap both arms around Rhys's middle. Together they walked back down the hill to their car and drove back to their small home in the outskirts of Cardiff._

* * *

Jack hitched a ride on the cold fusion cruiser the whole way to the planet Zog. His favorite intergalactic bar was there in the small city of Zaggit Zagoo. Jack went in to find the place packed with every species of alien you could imagine. He sat at the bar and ordered a drink.

As he was starting at his drink, Jack looked up to find the bartender heading his way, carrying a small piece of paper. He dropped the paper in front of Jack and pointed his thumb over his shoulder as he spoke. "From the man over there." Jack looked up.

Not who he was expecting. The Doctor in his family pin-striped suit and long brown trench coat, strolled into view where the bartender had pointed. He nodded towards Jack. Jack looked down briefly and opened the piece of paper. In the Doctor's tidy scroll is said only four words "His name is Alonso." Jack looked up curiously at the Doctor who nodded towards the young midshipman on Jack's left-hand side. Jack turned his head towards the man. He seemed to be chatting with the others around him, not noticing Jack's presence at all. His face still pulled into a tight line, Jack turned back to the Doctor who salute with his right thumb and forefinger.

Jack drew in a deep breath and gave the Doctor full military salute. The Doctor, straight-faced himself nodded casually and strolled away in the opposite direction of which he entered, his hands deep in his trouser pockets. Jack swallowed hard and fiddled with his drink as he turned to his left again. "So, Alonso." The young man turned to face Jack with a look of confusion. Jack tried to smile as best he could. "Goin' my way?"

"How d'you know my name?"

Jack shook his head and raised his eyebrows as he came up with a clever ploy. "I'm kind of psychic." He did his best to laugh at his own joke and force a tooth-y grin.

"Really?" Jack nodded, his smile fading. The man examined Jack. "Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"Oh yeah," Jack said. He forced another smile and examined the midshipman. Alonso smiled genuinely, causing Jack to laugh ironically and down the last of his drink in one gulp. He slammed the glass to the bar counter when he'd finished and turned back to Alonso who was still half-smiling at him. Maybe sex with a handsome man would get his mind off everything. It was worth a shot at least.

Alonso enjoyed his night with Captain, but he could tell Jack wasn't all that into the encounter. When they'd finished, Alonso turned to Jack in the small motel room they'd found just down the street. "I'm sorry."

"Why you sorry?" Jack said reaching for his trousers. Sex, even with this handsome midshipman, had in fact _not_ been the thing to pull Jack from his dark place, so he forced yet another smile in Alonso's direction.

"You clearly didn't enjoy that," Alonso said, buttoning up his shirt.

"It's not that," Jack said. He buttoned his pants and reached for his shirt, letting his suspenders hang at his sides as he stood in the small room. Alonso looked away as he started putting his socks and shoes on. "It really isn't," Jack said as he buttoned the last button on his blue shirt.

"Well," Alonso said, getting to his feet and heading for his jacket which hung over a chair near the door. "Not my place to ask so I won't." He nodded towards Jack and picked up his jacket and opened the door. "Good-bye, Jack." He stepped through the door.

"No," Jack said, getting to his feet. "Wait." Alonso turned around to face him. "You should know," Jack said, his face fading to a frown. "It _really_ isn't your fault, Alonso. And it _really_ wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, because I did. It's not that. Not at all. Don't feel bad," he said approaching the man.

Alonso turned from Jack again and stepped through the door the whole way reaching for the nob to pull it shut behind him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Please, don't be sorry, Alonso."

"You're psychic though. You know what I'm thinking," Alonso said, turning back again. Jack had put a hand on the door to stop it closing. "And just tell me I'm wrong, why don't you?"

"Because I'm not really psychic." Jack was losing his touch, apparently. "Not at all."

"But you knew my name. Knew what I was thinking." Alonso took a step back towards the door.

"Because I was told your name and I guessed what you were thinking, because it was pretty obvious." Jack stepped back into the room and sunk into one of two chairs near the door.

"Who?"

"What?"

"Who told you? My name."

"An old friend," Jack said. A smirk tugged at his face, before giving up.

"Who though? No one there knew me."

Jack smiled to himself. "That's what I thought about me, too, until the bartender passed me a note and pointed out the old friend across the bar."

"Who was it though?"

"The Doctor."

"He was there? I haven't seen him in ages. I only ever met him once."

"I haven't seen him in a while either, but I've definitely met him more than once."

"Who are you, really?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. Torchwood," Jack sighed at the last word.

"Torchwood? What's that?"

"It's complicated. How did you meet the Doctor?"

"My first time out," Alonso said, tugging at his shirt and stepping back into the room. "On the Titanic. We crashed into his ship and then it all went to hell. I was on the bridge with the captain and I noticed that the shields were down, which was fine, except a meteor storm was headed straight at us. I went to turn them on and the captain shot me."

"He shot you for trying to save his ship? Why?" Jack said, suddenly interested.

"He was trying to destroy it. It was his plan all along. The meteors came and they killed the captain and I was badly injured when the Doctor finally arrived. I was stuck in the bridge and he told me how to keep the engines running so we wouldn't go crashing into the Earth." Jack smiled. The Doctor really was good at saving Earth no matter what was going on. "But then a Heavenly Host appeared and tried to kill me."

"Heavenly host?"

"They were the ship's butlers I guess. Sort of robots, I suppose. Made to answer people's questions and serve the passengers." Alonso sat in the chair opposite Jack. "I deadlocked the doors. Trapping me inside the bridge, but keeping them out. The Doctor eventually used one of their heads to break through the door to get to me. We worked together and steered the ship away from Buckingham Palace and London and back into the skies, then he just sort of left. Didn't even say good-bye."

"Where are you from, Alonso?"

"Sto."

"Casivanian belt, right?" Jack said.

"Yeah, that's right. Where are you?"

"Originally?" Jack said, with a hollow laugh. Alonso nodded. "Originally, I was born on the Boeshane Peninsula in the year 5094."

"Oh! You're a time traveler?"

"Yes, or I was. Been stuck on Earth for several millennia now."

"How old are you?"

"I'm not actually sure," Jack said stroking his chin.

"But what are you? You're not human and you're not Stoan. What are you?"

"Human. Mostly."

"What do you mean, mostly? Humans don't live for millennia, do they?"

"Not ordinarily, no." Jack shook his head. "I can't die though," he looked up at Alonso. "Just come right back to life when I do. Death isn't pleasant, but neither is waking up afterwards." Jack's face fell into his hands as tears started to fall.

"What is it?" Alonso said, leaning closer. "What's wrong?"

"I can't die, Alonso," Jack said, looking up. "But everyone else around me can and does." He dropped his face into his hands again.

"Is that what was wrong then? Did you lose someone?"

"I've lost everyone. My team. My family. Everyone."

"Team?"

"I was the leader of Torchwood. Gwen's all that's left and I left her."

"But what is Torchwood?"

"The Torchwood Institute. We're there to deal with the things the government and police force can't. We spent the last several years dealing with the repercussions of having an active space/time rift running straight through the middle of Cardiff." He looked up at Alonso again. "And my team. They're gone. I've lost them all."

"But how? Why?"

"Owen got himself trapped inside a nuclear reactor when it went into melt down." Jack looked up. "My fault. Tosh got shot by _my_ little brother. My fault." Jack swallowed hard. "Ianto. Ianto died. The first victim of an alien plague. He died – in _my_ arms." Jack broke down in tears into his hands again. "My fault," he mumbled through sobs.

"How is any of that _your_ fault?" Alonso said reaching over to rub Jack's shoulder soothingly.

"It's always my fault," he said between sobs. "I should have went to the reactor instead of Owen. I wouldn't have died when it went into melt down. I would have come back. Good as new. My fault. Gray shot Toshiko because she was protecting _me_. My fault. And," Jack swallowed again. It was obvious that Ianto's death hurt him the most. "And – Ianto. He died because I had him come with me to Thames House. He could have stayed behind. Gone with Rhys. Stayed with Gwen. Anything. But he came with _me_. I died, too. Waking up when you know the world is empty is the worst thing I've ever experienced." Jack sunk into the chair, tears still rolling from his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said looking at Alonso. "I shouldn't have brought you here."

"No," Alonso said, standing. "You wanted _someone_ and I was available. I understand." He patted Jack's shoulder again. "But now. I really have to go. My ship is leaving soon." He looked at his watch. "Only got about fifteen more minutes." Jack looked up. "Good-bye, Jack." And Alonso left, closing the door behind him. Jack stayed in the chair for the rest of the night, thinking and crying. Eventually as the darkness grew so that he could not see anymore, he dragged himself back over to the bed and kicked off his shoes, and removed his coat. He crawled under the covers and fell asleep in a puddle of his own tears.


	2. The Doctor Has Friends Everywhere

Jack woke the next morning, feeling no better about his situation than before, and went back to the bar to try drowning his sorrows again. It wasn't long after he started on his first drink that a woman sat down next to him. "Hello," she said pleasantly. It was almost as if she knew him.

"Do I know you?"

"Oh," she stopped and looked at his face. "I'm not actually sure."

"What do you mean?"

"You might not know me yet," she said as she pulled out a thick journal in a very familiar shade of blue. "What's the date?"

Jack examined her carefully. "13 March."

She looked up as if she expected him to continue. "The year, Jack, what's the year?"

"2010," he said examining her more closely. "How do you know my name?"

The woman ran her fingers through her hair as she turned the pages of her diary. "Oh," she said finally, looking up at Jack. "You _don't_ know me. Sorry about that."

"But you know me?" he asked apprehensively.

"Yeah. Time traveler, you see. I often meet people very out of order. Take the Doctor for example, we've both got these," she said as she held up the journal again. Jack recognized the pattern and color at once. It was the TARDIS. "…so we can sync them when we first meet, so we don't give away any spoilers to each other." She smiled kindly.

Jack sat in silence for a moment, staring at the woman. Her hair was frizzy in tight curls and the lines on her face revealed her age. "Who are you?" he asked finally.

"River Song," she said.

"Okay," Jack said, still examining her appearance. "And you know the Doctor?"

River laughed. "Yes."

"And you know me?"

"We've met."

"When?"

"I can't tell you that," she said, looking at her diary. "Spoilers."

"How come he never mentioned you? The Doctor?"

"Well, when did you last see him? How old was he?"

"I don't know," Jack said honestly. "I saw him last night, just over there." He pointed to the place where the Doctor had stood. "He passed me a note through the bartender. Introduced me to a man."

River smiled. "He didn't mention me," she said with a wider smile. "Because we hadn't met at least not very many times. He didn't know who I was yet when he was here last night."

"So he's gotten older then?"

She swallowed hard at the question. "Older, yes." She seemed to be trying to figure out how best to word something.

"What is it?"

"When he was here last night," she said finally, looking at Jack's fast. "It was, for him, the last night he spent in that body. He was regenerating. He went around to say good-bye."

"Is that why he didn't come over and talk then?"

"Probably," she said, looking at her hands. "He made the mistake of flying off in the TARDIS just as the cycle was completing. He nearly crashed. Ruined the whole interior. Had to make a whole new TARDIS."

"Wow," Jack said, sighing. "Where is he now?"

"I'm not quite sure actually. Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to…" Jack wasn't sure what he wanted really, but there was a question burning inside him that he thought just maybe the Doctor could answer. "…I wanted to _ask_ him something. Something happened the other night and I wanted to know if he knew anything about it."

"What are you referring to exactly?"

"The House of the Dead," Jack said, his face suddenly falling again. The novelty of meeting someone else who knew the Doctor had worn off and he had fallen right back to where he'd been emotionally.

"Oh," River said. "He mentioned that, but I hadn't been there yet. Perhaps I'm supposed to call him? Oh, these damned spoilers. Worth a shot, I guess." She pushed her sleeve back to reveal a vortex manipulator very similar to the one on Jack's own arm and used it to send a communication signal.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Oh, this?" she said holding it up. "I bought it on the black market in the 52nd century. Met old Dorium at the Maldovarium bar. He had heard I was looking for time travel and he had just procured this fresh off the wrist of a handsome time agent, he said." She looked at the device.

Jack pulled out his own. "Suppose yours actually functions properly though." He rolled his eyes. "The Doctor seems to think I don't need to teleport or time travel. _Every damned time_, the man 'fixes' the thing."

River laughed. "Quickly, before he comes," she said reaching for Jack's manipulator with one hand and into her pocket with the other. "This should do it," she said pulling a sonic screwdriver from her pocket and pointing it at the device. It made a little noise and then she stowed the screwdriver back away. "You should be all fixed up now," she said with a smile.

"Wait. You have a screwdriver?" Jack said, sounding impressed.

"The Doctor gave it to me, but don't tell him, because you never know if he actually did that yet or not. Birthday present."

"He _gave_ you a sonic screwdriver?" She nodded. "Who are you? Who are you really?"

River opened her mouth to speak, but in that moment the TARDIS could be heard materializing nearby and they both jumped to their feet and ran in that direction. They found the TARDIS parked just outside the backdoor of the bar in a small alley. The Doctor stepped outside a moment after they arrived.

"Hello, Sweetie," River said casually. He kissed her once and then turned to Jack.

"Captain Jack Harkness. Been awhile," he said. He strode forward and embrace Jack.

"Where are we then, River?" the Doctor said, pulling out his journal which was identical to River's.

"Manhattan?"

The Doctor nodded. "Whispermen?"

"Yes," River said. "Where's Clara?"

"Home. Went to visit her father for his birthday," he smiled.

"I know where we are then. I've done all that you have and more, I promise."

"Oh," the Doctor said closing his journal and stowing it back in his pocket. "Now," he said looking from River to Jack. "What did you need me for?"

River closed her journal and put it away as well. "Jack had question and it was about something you'd mentioned, so I figured I'd be safe and call you up."

"Oh," the Doctor said. "Exciting! What is it then, Jack?"

Jack looked down at his hands and then up at the Doctor's face. "Can we talk about _you_ first?"

"Alright," the Doctor raised his non-existent eyebrows.

"You came in here last night," Jack said pointing at the bar. "And passed me a note through the bartender, and didn't even stop to say hello."

"Alonso!" the Doctor said with a sudden smile. "How _is_ he?"

"Good, good," Jack still felt bad about the night before. "And now, next day, she shows up," he indicated River as he spoke. "And says hello as if we're old friends then explains that we haven't met yet, but we will and says spoilers whenever I ask her anything."

"Can't have you knowing your own future, Jack," the Doctor said. "Dangerous, dangerous, stuff that is."

"Well, anyway," he turned to River. "Are you sleeping with the Doctor?"

River and the Doctor both laughed. "I'm married to the Doctor," River said gently.

"Married?" Jack blurted turning to the Doctor.

"Married," the Doctor said with a nod.

"Wow."

River and the Doctor laughed again. "Sorry, Jack," the Doctor said, trying to regain his composure. "What was your question then?"

"Oh," Jack said looking at the Doctor. "One last thing, here, what are you wearing?" He pointed specifically the bowtie on the Doctor's neck.

"It's a bow-tie, Jack. Bow-ties are _cool_!" He adjusted the tie and glanced at River as he did.

River smirked at her husband before turning to Jack. "Better than some of the hats he's chosen!"

"Hey! I like those hats! Fezzes are _cool_. And Stetsons. Stetsons are _cool_, too!"

"You wore a _fez_?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded with a wide smile. "But I didn't come here to talk about my _excellent_ taste in fashions, I don't suppose."

"No, no," Jack said his face falling. "You really didn't."


	3. House of the Dead

"Two nights ago," Jack began. "The House of the Dead, most haunted pub in Wales, closed its doors forever, but before it did, I went to their last séance."

"Ianto?"

Jack nodded.

"What happened? Tell me everything," the Doctor said, sitting opposite Jack in a small coffee shop. River returned with their coffees a moment later. Jack sat in silence. He took a sip of his coffee, then looked up at the Doctor. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I must know what happened."

"Seriath used the dead against the living. She drew them in. The psychic there, Mrs. Wintergreen, was sucked in by the image of her infant son crying out to her. I went there to seal the Rift forever. It was time. Ianto's dad came and spoke with Ianto. The last thing he said was 'I can't believe that you're going to let him die... again. Goodbye, Ianto.'"

"Ianto didn't know." The Doctor's face fell as Jack shook his head.

"He was there waiting for me when I walked in. I couldn't resist. He was so real. He even said he felt real. He convinced me we should leave at least try to go into the real world. I walked outside before the device took the place off the map forever and sealed the Rift, but he did not follow. I begged Ianto to join me, but he wouldn't he knew he never could. And he was gone. Sealed off by the Rift, forever."

"I'm so sorry, Jack. I'm so very, very sorry, but I've dealt with the Seriath before."

"There's more than one? I thought that was her name."

"They are a whole species that lives in the void. They feed off of memories, drawing those with the strongest, most painful memories to them and pulling them in so far that they're gone. It's what they do."

"They use the dead against the living."

"No, Jack. It's_ much_ worse than that." The Doctor shook his head. "It uses the memories of its victims against themselves. It produces an image only as powerful as the memory in your head, Jack. You remembered everything about Ianto, everything, and the Seriath produced an image so powerful it thought itself real, but it was only real to you, Jack, because Ianto was there through your memory alone. The Seriath dwell in places thought haunted, drawing people in and using their memories of loved ones against them, pulling them across the void into their place of eternal dwelling."

"But how? If it wasn't a ghost. If he wasn't real. If it _was_ just a memory. How did he surprise me? How could he do that?"

"The Seriath are smart, Jack. Very smart. They used your memories your eternal, undying memories of Ianto to create an image and then they used words that sounded like words Ianto would say, that were the words you needed to hear. The words you feared, but the words you longed to hear, Jack. The Seriath are smart and powerful. They created that image of Ianto to draw you in. They wanted you."

"But I can't die. Why would they want me? Isn't that what they do? Pull people into the void, so they die."

"No, and it's for that reason, Jack, that you were the _perfect_ target for them. They feed off living memories, and with you around, they would never have to go hungry. Your memories could feed them forever."

"Even if I were in the void? I couldn't die?" The Doctor shook his head. "Why though? Why can't I die?"

"Rose saved you. She breathed a part of the time vortex itself into you on Satellite 5."

"I know that, but it doesn't seem right. I don't do it right. You have the time vortex in your DNA and you regenerate a new face and a new life every time. I just _wake up_. You don't even die like I do, Doc. How does that work?"

"I don't know," the Doctor said casually. He stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"I think I might have an answer," River said hesitantly.

"What?" the Doctor and Jack said in unison as they turned to face her.

"I'm part-human, part-timelord, right?" she said looking at the Doctor, who nodded. "I was conceived on the TARDIS in mid-flight through the vortex. The vortex imbedded itself in my DNA, too, just like the Timelords." The Doctor didn't understand what this had to do with anything and Jack was lost completely, but they let her continue. "Our _DNA_ is different, that's all. That's why we regenerate. Or why he regenerates and I regenerated, but details," she said looking at Jack.

"I don't understand," Jack said. "What's that got to do with me?"

"You got the vortex in your _lungs_ not in your DNA, Jack. It's something different. She blew it into you. You weren't _born_ with it there. That must account for something."

"Okay," Jack said, looking at her, "but still."

"I think," she said looking at Jack's face, "but I could be wrong. That the vortex didn't alter your DNA at all."

"So you think, I was _born_ like this?"

"No, no, let me finish," River was actually on to something or maybe she was at least. "I _think_ it just got into your blood stream. It went in through your lungs, got absorbed into the blood stream like oxygen and it's made you immortal."

"But my blood was all gone, once, and I still came back."

"What happened?"

"The put a bomb in my abdomen and it exploded. Destroyed the whole Hub and me. They found my bones and put them in a bag under strict surveillance in a secure facility."

"Who did this?" the Doctor said suddenly.

"They were working for John Frobisher, Permanent Secretary to the Home Office. Our liaison to the British Government. He ordered me killed."

"If he was your liaison, why would he do that?"

"Never got the chance to ask, but I have a hunch."

"Is he dead?"

"Killed himself, his wife, and his two daughters in the middle of a crisis."

"Why do you _think_ he wanted you dead?"

"I knew too much. I was there last time the 456 came to Earth. I could have told everyone on the planet what was really happening to their children when they were sent to be 'inoculated.' I knew far too much. But that wasn't the point of this story." Jack froze for a moment. As the harsh reality of the words he'd just spoke hit him like a ton of bricks. She shook his head clear a moment later and continued. "I reformed from just the bones."

River thought about it for a moment, before she realized something. "The marrow. Your bone marrow. It's created from your blood. The vortex energy got into your bone marrow. So bones _and_ blood. You truly are immortal."

Jack looked devastated for a moment, before he realized something. "My blood," he said suddenly. "What would that mean if say, someone had used my blood for a transfusion for instance? What if someone else was injected with _my blood_?"

"Well," River said thoughtfully. "I suppose it would depend on how much of your blood they received and the quality of said blood, but it's possible that if I'm right. _If_ I'm right about your blood, that if someone else were injected with your blood, that they too, _might_ become immortal, though I don't know if it would be to the extent that you are."

"Immortal is immortal though. Isn't it?" Jack said turning to the Doctor.

"What I think River means is, she's not sure say how long it took before the blood would circulate to the person's whole body, therefore allowing them to fully reawaken. Or," he said looking at River, who nodded. "How long it took for it to penetrate your bone marrow, so they may not, at first at least, be able to survive say being blown up for the inside out, like you did."

"Or it might take _longer_ for them to wake up after dying," River added.

"It took me a lot longer at first, but I've gotten better with _practice_."

"Exactly," River said, finally. "There are so many variables."

"But," Jack said with a slight smile. "It might be worth a shot."

"What are you thinking, Jack?" the Doctor clearly did _not_ like where this is going.

"If I were to, go back in time, just a little ways. And switch the labels in the lab on my blood and Ianto's blood."

"You would kill him sooner," River said.

"No," Jack said. "I wouldn't. I remember reading in his personnel file. His blood type is AB+, universal receiver. He could take my B- blood no problem." Jack nodded. "Owen gave Ianto a transfusion when he lost a lot of blood after the whole cyber-girlfriend thing." Jack rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe he did that. I can't believe he got away with _that_."

"What?"

"His girlfriend, Lisa. He 'saved' her from Torchwood One. Canary Wharf. She was half-way through conversion and he brought her and hid her in our basement from us for almost a year, before she got strong enough to attack."

"Seriously?"

"She nearly killed him, and yet he refused to kill her. That was _not_ a fun day in Cardiff."

"I imagine not," the Doctor said nodding.

"But anyway. If," Jack said, "I were to switch them. I've never need a transfusion and even if I did and it killed me, I'd come right back away. So, if I switch them. Ianto might still be alive, right now."

"But you can't cross your own timeline, Jack," the Doctor said warningly.

"I won't." He stopped for a moment and smiled. "I'll go back to the day Tosh and I were stuck in 1941. And I'll go in and switch them when Owen, Gwen, and Ianto all leave to look for the clues to get Tosh and I back. And then I'll go back to a few minutes after I left Earth and catch up to Gwen and Rhys and tell them what happened."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I'll go back to September at Thames House and get Ianto out of there before he wakes up for you and Gwen to see. Take him for a ride in the TARDIS or something and drop him back at the Hub." He really didn't know if this was going to work and even if it did, he wasn't sure it would be the greatest idea in the world.

"Drop him at the Hub that night, alright?"

"I can't do that, Jack," the Doctor said suddenly.

"Why not?" Jack demanded.

"You can't know when he's coming. Only that I'll bring him. I can't have you run off with me again and leaving your team behind. They need you at Torchwood, Jack."

"But," Jack started. "I wouldn't."

"You would," the Doctor nodded. "Don't think I forgot about the time you climbed on the outside of the TARDIS and road it right on through the vortex." Jack's face when straight. If he'd known. If he'd thought about it.

"I wouldn't do that. Not with Ianto there," he looked up at the Doctor with longing in his eyes. "Six months without him is long enough. I don't know how much more I can take with these memories. Seriath brought them to life and now they hurt more than ever. I can't take it."

"Don't worry, Jack. It won't be long." Jack sipped the last bit of his coffee as the Doctor spoke. "Go back and switch the labels. Go back and catch up with Gwen and Rhys. Ask them what happened during the six months you were away. Hear their story before you tell your own, Jack. Let them tell you."

"Why?"

"Because they'll have a story to share, Jack. Be a good friend. Be there for them when their daughter is born."

"It's a girl?" Jack said suddenly.

The Doctor nodded. "Take care of them, Jack. I will bring Ianto back to you, when the time is right and not before."


	4. Rebuilding

Just as he started up the car, Rhys noticed something moving in the distance. "What's that?" he said pointing at spot steadily growing larger as it neared the car.

"I don't…" Gwen froze. It was too much. She couldn't allow herself to believe what she was seeing, but as he got closer there was no questioning who it was running towards them. Rhys got back out of the car and Jack slowed down as he finally reached them.

"What d'you think you're playing at?" Rhys said, stepping right up to where Jack stood. Gwen was watching with an open mouth from the passenger's seat of the car. She couldn't hear them, as Rhys had left the car running.

"I am _so_ sorry, Rhys," Jack said as he reached out to hug the man in front of him. Rhys pushed Jack away and stared at his face. "I'm sorry," Jack said again. "I shouldn't have left," he said without thinking about the repercussions of such a decision. "Well," he said pausing. "If I hadn't left I wouldn't…" he paused. He still didn't know if it would work. He couldn't be certain until the Doctor brought Ianto back. It was probably best to _not_ get their hopes up. "Just," he stared at Rhys for a moment. "I'm sorry. So sorry." Jack started crying heavily into his hands and Gwen opened her door.

"Oi! Com'ere and help me out!" she shouted towards Rhys. He rolled his eyes but ran to his wife's aid immediately. "Jack," she said once she'd gotten to where he was standing. "Jack."

Jack looked up at Gwen's face. "I'm sorry, Gwen. I am so _very, very _sorry." He reached for her and she returned the gesture, hugging him for a moment before taking a step back and slapping him hard across the face.

"Don't you_ ever_ do that again!" she said crossly.

Jack rubbed his cheek with the palm of his hand and looked at Gwen's face. "I deserved that."

"Damn right you did," Rhys said, putting his arm around Gwen's shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said again, looking down, ashamed.

"Alright, stop it, you," Gwen said, punching Jack's shoulder playfully. "Come on, get in," she said motioning towards the car. "You can sleep on our Couch 'til the Hub's restored."

Next morning, the three of them headed into the city towards the bay. The rubble from the explosion had been cleared up completely and the plaza was reopened. "How'd this get cleaned up then?" Jack asked Gwen as he helped her out of the car.

"The police hired some people. Took a lot of retcon with all the sensitive things they came across, but we got everything sorted." She turned and closed the door of the car, and Rhys sped off to go park the car. In the same moment Andy Davidson walked around the corner onto the plaza, waving at Gwen as he did.

"Gwen, love," he said as he approached. "What are you doing out here?"

"Need to show Jack the damage. We gotta get Torchwood back on its feet."

Andy looked up at Jack's face. Jack still looked almost ashamed of himself, but was starting to come back around to his old self. "Jack? Where you been at then?"

"All over the place," Jack smiled. "Places you wouldn't even believe existed."

"Like what?"

"Don't worry about it, Andy," Gwen said, patting his arm. "We'll see you around," and she and Jack walked off towards the entrance to the Hub, Rhys joining them as they got to the stairs. Gwen looked back over her shoulder to see Andy's gaze following them for another moment before turning and continuing his patrol. She nodded in his direction and addressed Jack "Got promoted to Sergeant, Andy did."

"Good for him," Jack said earnestly as they approached the tourist center which concealed the entry to the Torchwood Hub. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Rhys said with a brief nod of his head.

"We've been trying to get stuff in order," Gwen said, "But it's hard. Only two of us. And me in such a state."

"Gorgeous, Gwen. You're gorgeous. We've been managing well enough," Rhys said looking at Jack. "How long were you gone before you came back?"

Jack looked at them both and smiled as he opened the large circular door to the Hub. "Two and a half days."

"Really?" Gwen said, shocked. "What changed your mind?"

"Ran into an old friend," he said with a smile. "A couple of times."

"The Doctor?" Gwen said immediately.

Jack nodded. They walked through the door and his jaw dropped at the chaos, as the Pterodactyl swooped overhead. "Glad to see, he survived at least," Jack said looking up at the ancient creature.

"Yeah, gave us a bit of a surprise the first time we came in," Rhys said, sitting on the sofa. "Expected a lot more damage than we got, that's for sure." Gwen sat on the sofa next her husband and Jack walked around the room. He paused when he reached the crypt.

"Ianto?" he said, carefully.

Gwen shook her head.

"Where?"

"Don't know," Gwen said, gently.

"What do you mean?"

"His sister and I went down to claim his body when they'd finally started releasing them, after you'd left. And they told us someone else had already taken him."

"Did they say who?"

"Couldn't. Said it was a Doctor. Said he had something signed by Ianto saying he was donating his body to science. Medical research." She paused and looked at Jack. "I'm sorry."

"Did you try to trace it?"

"We couldn't. There was nothing keeping record. Just said it's been signed out by a Doctor from the MI5 morgue."

"Don't worry," Jack said with a faint smile.

"Did you have something to do with that?" Gwen sounded indignant as she stared at Jack from the sofa with menacing eyes. "You can't just steal people's bodies, Jack. Rhia has a right to know where her brother is."

"I didn't do it, Gwen. Cool your heels," Jack said, walking back over to where Gwen and Rhys were sitting. "Really doesn't look bad, though. The Hub."

"No," Gwen said, looking around. "I think I got most everything back where it belongs, but some of the tech got destroyed."

"What've you done with it?"

"Locked it in the vaults. Catalogued it properly and everything."

"Thank you," Jack said, smiling at her. "So," he said sitting down next to Gwen. "This baby." He put his hand on Gwen's stomach. "Does she have a name?"

"_She_?" Rhys blurted. "How d'you know it's a girl? We don't even know."

"Oh," Jack said with a smirk. "I just have a feeling."

"A _feeling_?" Rhys said, suspiciously.

"The Doctor might have let it slip. Spoilers. He shouldn't have said, but he didn't realize I didn't know. Definitely didn't realize you didn't know."

"So, it's a girl, then?" Rhys said, regaining his composure and looking at Gwen's face with a smile.

"A girl," she repeated with a smile.

"Been keeping out of trouble while I was away?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Been trying," Rhys said. "If it was for Andy down at the police station, I think we might have been kicked out of Wales."

"What happened?"

"After the 456, Jack. What do you think happened?" Gwen asked. Jack didn't speak.

"People went crazy. Don't trust Torchwood anymore. Not after that fiasco," Rhys provided.

"It's better that way," Jack said. "We were making a name for ourselves before. A good name, but a name."

"What do you mean?"

"We were getting too public. Torchwood was never supposed to be _public_. Remember when you first started, Gwen? Remember how I gave you Retcon so you would forget us? That's how Torchwood was always supposed to work, but then everything go so much more public. So much more involved. And now, here we are. Talking to police sergeants about it like it's nothing. Don't you see? That's not how this organization was supposed to be."

Gwen looked at him silently for a moment. "Yeah. I see what you're saying."

"What are you suggesting, then?" Rhys said, looking at Jack. "Do away with it? Start again somewhere else? Can't very well Retcon the whole population."

"We won't need to," Jack said. "We're staying here. This is where we belong. We just need to be better about keeping our work a secret from the world. Be more careful about who we're telling things to." He looked at Gwen in particular. "Back to the old style of Torchwood."


	5. Immortality

Jack was sitting in his office, it was about 3 in the afternoon. Ever since the Rift had been closed up permanently, Torchwood had not been very busy at all. Sure the occasional Weevil still needed catching, but nothing new was showing up or being taken away. The holding cells in their basement were still empty. Gwen had put Emily down for a nap in a small basinet she'd set up next to her desk and Rhys was trying to figure out the coffee maker again. Everything in the Torchwood Hub was back to normal or as close to normal as it would ever be with only three of them.

It had been almost six months since Jack had returned from his running away and almost a full year since the events with the 456 had occurred. Every day that passed, Jack lost a little more faith in the doctor returning Ianto alive and well to his side. He constantly reminded himself of what the Doctor had said. "When the time is right and not before," he repeated to himself again as he watched CCTV footage, editing away the video of his Weevil hunting adventure with Rhys from the night before. One had made its way to the surface and scared a few kids. The kids forgot all about it by morning and the Weevil was captured and put with its fellows in the holding cell.

Just then, Jack heard something that made him happier than a kid on Christmas. He watched on the CCTV camera outside in the plaza as the TARDIS materialized right on its usual spot on top of the hidden lift. Jack ran out into the atrium with a huge smile on his face. Gwen and Rhys exchanged nervous looks, but Jack didn't run for the door, he had a better plan. He used his vortex manipulator to activate the lift and lower the TARDIS (and its occupants) into the Hub. Once the lift stopped, Jack approached the doors. Just as he reached his hand out to knock the doors swung inward and the Doctor popped his head out.

Jack's face was riddled with anticipation. The Doctor smiled gently at him then looked around at Gwen and Rhys. "Good afternoon, Torchwood!" he announced stepping out of the TARDIS. "If you don't mind me asking," he said turning back to Jack. "How did my TARDIS end up inside your hub, exactly?"

"Hidden lift," Jack said. "Use the residual perception filtering left by your TARDIS to keep us from being seen when we just appear right in the middle of the plaza."

"Nice," the Doctor said, nodding.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Rhys said stepping forward.

The Doctor smiled, "You must be Rhys!" He stretched out a hand to shake Rhys's. "I'm the Doctor. Old friend of Jack's. Met your lovely wife a few years back as well."

Rhys eyed Gwen who was still standing near to Emily's basinet. "Hello," she said, eyeing the man. "I don't remember you looking quite like this when last we spoke."

"Oh, no," the Doctor said with a smile. "Of course not. I regenerate a couple hundred years ago." Jack eyed the Doctor with skepticism. "But I've got something for you, Jack. Come in here, a minute." The Doctor stepped back and pushed the doors back open, ushering Jack inside. "Don't worry," he said, spotting the mistrust on Gwen and Rhys's faces. "We're not leaving."

"How long for you?" Jack asked as soon as they crossed the threshold of the TARDIS.

"A few months. I'm sorry it was so long for you, Jack, but I had to wait."

"Why though? Why'd you have to wait?"

"I just did, alright. Spoilers as River would say."

"Spoilers." Jack was getting really tired of that word.

"Jack?" came a familiar voice. Jack spun himself around in a circle before his eyes locked on the one person who could make _anything_ at all better. Ianto Jones was standing in the doorway that lead to the rest of the TARDIS, staring at Jack.

"Ianto," Jack said, a wide grin spreading across his face. He ran the short distance between them and threw his arms around Ianto, who embraced him in return. The two shared a passionate kiss before breaking apart. "Ianto Jones," Jack couldn't stop smiling. "I've missed you, so much."

Ianto smiled in return. "And I, you." The two simply stared at each other for a very long while, until the Doctor cleared his throat to get their attention.

"There are two other people out there," the Doctor jerked his head towards the door, "who would be very interested to know Ianto's alive, Jack. You might consider sharing the happy news with them."

"Oh," Jack said. His face fell slightly, but Ianto smiled broadly. "I guess. But I don't much fancy sharing." He kissed Ianto again.

"Gwen. Rhys. Jack, they should at least know I'm alive," Ianto said pulling away slightly. "If not why, at least that I am. Why can wait." He touched his lips to Jack's cheek briefly and laced his fingers through Jack's.

"Oh, alright," Jack said reluctantly be pulled by Ianto towards the door. The Doctor pulled the door open and Jack stepped back through and cleared his throat to get Gwen and Rhys's attention. Emily had apparently woken up from her nap and they were at her basinet, playing. They looked up at Jack when he emerged. "Gwen, Rhys," he called, waving them towards him. "There's someone you might be interested in seeing. As they approached the TARDIS and Jack, Gwen and Rhys shared a concerned glance. Jack smirked them, before reaching back into the TARDIS and taking Ianto by the hand and pulling him out into the Hub. Gwen and Rhys both dropped their jaws at the sight. Gwen blinked rapidly, trying to convince herself that what she was seeing wasn't real.

"No," Rhys muttered.

"Yes," Ianto responded with a smile, eyeing Jack.

"But that's…that's impossible," Gwen said.

"Almost," Jack said, smirking again. "If I hadn't come up with a brilliant plan after River Song figured out why _I_ can't die."

"What?" Gwen said, suddenly.

"River Song, the Doctor's wife, figured out that my _blood_ and by relation my bone marrow is what makes me come back. I have part of the time vortex running through my veins. And using that knowledge, I went back in time, to the day Tosh and I got stuck in 1941. I switched the labels on the blood samples in Owen's cooler. Put Ianto's name on my samples so that when Ianto was hurt and Owen had to give him the transfusion, it would be _my_ blood not his that he was receiving."

"So," Gwen started, taking a step back towards the sofa. "So, that means. You're _both_ immortal now. _Both_ of you can't die." Jack and Ianto both nodded as Gwen sunk onto the sofa.


	6. Where We Left Off

"Take the weekend off," Jack said with a smirk in Ianto's direction as Gwen and Rhys were getting Emily buckled into her car seat to leave for the night.

"You can't be serious," Gwen said as she attached the buckle and pulled it tight. "None of us have had a day off in ages, Jack. There's always something coming up."

"That's not true anymore, Gwen," Jack said, nodding as Rhys picked up the car seat.

"Just go with it, Gwen," Rhys said as he put his remaining arm around his wife's shoulders. "You know Jack. He'll call if something comes up."

"But I feel bad," Gwen said taking a step towards the door.

"Don't," Jack said, pushing a button on the console that turned off the alarms for the front door. "Let Emily know where her home is for once. Instead of growing up thinking she lives in this place," Jack laughed as Rhys stepped through the door, pulling Gwen beside him. "Besides," Jack said with a wide smile. "I've got Ianto if I need a spare pair of hands with anything. You two deserve some time off, take it."

Rhys ushered Gwen up the stairs before she could argue further with a wink in the direction of Jack and Ianto over his shoulder.

"I like Rhys," Ianto said with a smirk. "Quality man, he is."

"High quality. Very good. I quite agree," Jack said echoing the smirk.

"Now," Ianto said taking a step closer to Jack and touching his arm. "Where were we?" That's all it took for Jack. He whirled around to face Ianto and grabbed his face, crushing their lips together with an unrelenting passion.

[Let your imagination wander a bit too far and you've probably come close to what happened next.]

A few hours later, Ianto was fast asleep, flat on his back in the middle of Jack's bed. Jack was laying with his ear pressed firmly to Ianto's chest and one arm wrapped tenderly around his middle. He was listening to the simple sounds of life coming from Ianto's chest. The air going in and out of his lungs and the steady rhythm of his heart's beating, was a constant reminder in Jack's ear that this was in fact actually happening. Eventually, Jack fell asleep as well. Never quite finding the full confidence that Ianto would still be there in the morning.

Jack woke as his usual hour, long before was really necessary. The first thing that broke into his dream world as he was waking was the steady thumping of a heart, not his own and air filling and emptying from lungs of another. A huge smile spread across his face as he snuggled his face against Ianto's chest, breathing in the scent of his skin. Jack kissed Ianto's chest before propping himself up on his elbows. He watched as Ianto's chest rose and fell with each passing breath for a long while before he couldn't take it anymore. He knew he should let Ianto sleep, but he just couldn't do it.

Jack leaned over Ianto's face and kissed the end of his nose which caused Ianto's face to wriggle around quite adorably. He then kissed Ianto's cheek which brought the echo of a smile to the corner of his lips. "Can stop pretending to sleep anytime," Jack said as he placed a trail of kisses leading right around the corner of Ianto's lips and down to his jawbone. Ianto moaned slightly, but didn't speak. "Come on," Jack said, placing another kiss on Ianto's earlobe. "I know you're awake." Ianto sighed a little and opened his eyes a crack, just enough to peak at Jack's face through his eyelashes. Jack smirked.

Ianto sighed again and opened his eyes the whole way, lifting himself up on his elbows to properly look at Jack. "Morning," he mumbled, sleepily.

"Good morning!" Jack said. He was clearly far more awake and even more clearly very excited.

"Why're you s' cheery?" Ianto said through heavy eyelids.

"Have you back," Jack said with a wide grin. "I missed you."

Ianto smiled. "Missed you, too, Jack." He yawned widely as he finished talking and closed his eyes again.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, biting his lip. "I shouldn't've woken you."

"'S alright," Ianto said sleepily. He flopped back onto the bed and immediately snuggled as close as he could to Jack. "Good to be back."

"Good to have you back," Jack said, his eyes beginning to water. He curled up and kissed the top of Ianto's head and closed his eyes.

"How long've I been gone?" Ianto said a few seconds later.

"Almost a year," Jack said as he put his arm around Ianto.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Next Tuesday's a year since the explosion."

"Oh," Ianto seemed displeased.

"What's wrong?"

"I've been gone a long time," he said.

"What d'you mean?" Jack said. "I would have waited a hundred years if I'd had to."

"No, no," Ianto said, trying to snuggle closer if that were even possible. "For me."

"In the TARDIS?" Jack asked. "How long did he make _you_ wait?"

"I guess it might just have seemed like a long time," Ianto said. "We kept quite busy."

"The Doctor always does," Jack said, kissing Ianto's forehead.

"I missed you," Ianto said, looking up into Jack's eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Shouldn't have agreed to let the Doctor take you and bring you back when he thought it was the right time," Jack said. "I should have just come right there and gotten you."

"But you would have crossed your own path. Your own timeline. That's really dangerous."

"You're worth all the paradoxes in the world, Ianto Jones. I almost caused one trying to save your life. Can you imagine if you all would have come back to the Hub and I would have been down in autopsy switching labels on Owen's bags of blood? It was dangerous, but it was the best time I could think of to do it and I _had_ to try."

"Thank you," Ianto said.

"I was selfish," Jack said suddenly. "Making you live forever. I never should have done it."

"What are you talking about, Jack?"

"This life is not what I wanted for you, Ianto. It's not the life I would want for _anyone_."

"Jack," Ianto said, tears filling his eyes. "No. Please don't."

"You don't understand," Jack said. "You've got family. Your sister, your niece and nephew. What are they going to think when you turn up in ten years' time and haven't aged a day? It's the worst part of this time and the best."

"I know, Jack. I know."

"No, Ianto, but you will, and I am so sorry."

"No, Jack. Please don't be sorry."

"You're going to lose everything, just like I did. And I am so sorry, Ianto, but that's the curse of forever. You outlive everyone you care about and there's nothing you can do about it. I am so lonely. I think that's why I did it," Jack said looking up. "I think _that's_ why I saved you. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I wanted to have someone else that wasn't going to die. Someone else that would live forever. I'm so sorry that I did that to you."

"No, Jack," Ianto said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "No. I won't lose everything."

"I'm so sorry," Jack said, with a great sniff as tears began streaming from his eyes.

"No, Jack, listen to me. I know I'm going to lose my family. I've all but lost them already. This job. You can't exactly keep in touch all the time. And now they think I'm dead. Think I've been gone for a year. I know that someday _they're_ going to be gone. Someday I'm going to lose them. I know that Jack."

"Then, how can you say that I shouldn't be sorry?" Jack looked at Ianto's face. "How can you say that?"

"Because. I won't lose everything, Jack. I never could. Because, I'll always, _always_ have you," and Ianto started sobbing. He buried his face in Jack's chest as they lay on the bed together.

"Always," Jack said, kissing the top of Ianto's head again. "I'm sorry."

"Stop," Ianto said suddenly looking up. "Stop saying you're sorry, Jack. I wouldn't want to be dead. I don't want to die if you're not going to, Jack. That's the one thing I was looking forward to the very least in life. I knew that someday I was going to die and you were going to go on without me. Just like you always have. That you would forget me someday and that I was just going to be some blip on your life."

"Never," Jack said, shaking his head. "I could never forget you."

"Now you won't have to, Jack. Don't you see? Neither of us is going to die. We're _both_ going to be like this, forever. I wouldn't want this life without you and I wouldn't want my old life back knowing you would live on after me. This," he put his hand on Jack's chest, "is the _only_ life worth living."

Jack smiled. He took Ianto's face in his hands and pressed their lips together. "I never said it properly. Not really," Jack said as their lips parted.

"You don't need to, Jack."

"Oh, but I do. Ianto, I love you."

"I love you, too, Jack."


	7. Saturday

It was almost noon before Ianto and Jack made their way, sleepily from Jack's sleeping quarters to the kitchen upstairs to find something to eat. They were both still in their pajama pants and shirtless. Ianto made coffee and as soon as Jack had the mug in his hand he wandered off towards his office. Ianto made some toast and got the jar of jam out of the fridge and headed for Jack's office with his own mug of coffee in hand.

"Any activity?" Ianto asked as he sat down on an armchair, placing the plate of toast and jar of jam on the desk. Jack looked up from his computer screen and smirked at Ianto.

"Guess you wouldn't know," he said with a small laugh.

"What's that?"

"While you were gone," Jack said. "About six months ago now, the Rift got closed up forever."

"How?"

"Do you remember the House of the Dead?" Jack said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"The most haunted pub in Wales?" Ianto said in mock horror-film fashion with a small laugh, nibbling on a piece of toast he'd just finished spreading with jam.

Jack didn't seem to find the humor in Ianto's tone. "Yeah, that's the place. I went there, the last day they were open. I knew there was one person I'd find if I went, and sure enough," Jack swallowed hard. "There you were, waiting by the door when I walked as if it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. You didn't know you weren't alive, though I do suppose you actually were _alive_, but you weren't there. It's all very complicated."

"My ghost? But I was alive. How did I have a ghost?"

"I didn't know it at the time, but the Doctor knew about the Seriath. He told me a couple days later. They use people's memories against them. They bring back the one person that could convince you to step into the void. They live there, in the void. They feed on human memories. I'd be a never ending food source for them, so they went all out on you. You were so real. You surprised me. You talked and did just like you actually would." A tear streaked down Jack's cheek as he continued. "The psychic herself was sucked in by the image of her infant son crying out to her. I'd gone there to seal the Rift though."

"How were you going to do that?"

"I had a device. An explosive so powerful that when it went off it would suck the whole place into the void, sealing the Rift forever. I was going to set it off. I was going to get sucked into the Rift. I thought eternity in the void would be better than life without you. I'd spent six months travelling all over the world trying to escape the past, but this planet was too small. It seemed like everywhere I went was just a graveyard of the past."

"I'm so sorry," Ianto said. "I wish I could have just told you. Could have just let you know I was alive somehow, but the Doctor said I couldn't."

"No, because what happened up until I went back to save you, had to happen. It had already happened. I couldn't just suddenly _not _have done all those things."

"I'm still sorry," Ianto said, standing up to move closer to where Jack was sitting at his desk. Jack looked up and smiled as Ianto walked around the desk to stand behind his chair. Ianto put his hand on Jack's shoulder and bent down to kiss his cheek. "I'm really, really sorry, but I'm here now, yeah? Not going anywhere."

Jack smiled. "Near the end, your dad was there."

"My dad?"

"Yeah," Jack said with a solemn nod. "He looked at me and said, 'I can't believe you're going to let him die…again.' And then he turned to you and said goodbye before going back into the void. You looked at me with fear in your face. You didn't know you weren't alive. You thought you were really there. Tried to convince me of what you'd had for breakfast, but I had to tell you the truth. The Seriath did such a good job with you that you were honestly scared. You convinced me that we should try to run. Try to get out before the device exploded and I listened because I wanted so much for you to be real. I ran out of the building, thinking you were right behind, but I turned around and you were still inside." Ianto's eyes widened. "You told me that you weren't coming, that you belonged in the House of the Dead with the device." Jack smiled at the next part of the memory. "I told you I loved you and you told me the same. Then you were gone and the Rift was sealed off forever."

Ianto swallowed hard. He gave Jack a weak smile. "I'm so sorry I caused you all that pain, Jack. So sorry."

"It's not your fault Ianto. It had to happen that way. The Rift is closed. We don't have to worry about it anymore. No more patients for the Island and no more space junk showing up out of nowhere. It's better this way."

Ianto smiled weakly again. "I do love you though. I really do."

Jack smiled and turned around to face Ianto who was still standing behind his chair. "I love you, too." He reached up and pulled Ianto down onto his lap and snogged him ferociously.

A little while later, after they'd finished their coffee and toast and made sure nothing had happened in the night to cause need for alarm, they wandered back towards Jack's sleeping quarters to get ready for the day.

"So what are we going to do today, if the Rift's closed? Don't have anything to go chasing." Ianto said as he stepped off the ladder in the room.

"I don't know," Jack said with a smile, picking up a clean pair of black trousers from his dresser drawer and walking into his closet. "What do you want to do?" he asked, poking his head back out the door at Ianto who was changing into his usual suit and tie.

"Doesn't matter," Ianto said with a smile, tightening his tie around his neck. Jack came out of his closet a moment later, fully dressed minus the shoes and coat with a wide grin, spreading across his face. Ianto stared at him anxiously as he pulled on his waistcoat and straightened his tie.

"I've got an idea," Jack said with a devious smile.

"Should I be concerned?"

"Not in the least," he said, flashing his brilliantly white smile in Ianto's direction. He picked up his coat from the back of a chair and headed for the ladder. Ianto picked up his jacket and followed.

"Where are we going then?" Ianto asked as they sat on the sofa, pulling on their shoes.

"It's a surprise," Jack said with another heart-stopping smile. Ianto raised his eyebrows, but pulled his jacket on anyway. Jack pulled on his coat and took Ianto's hand, leading him through the circular door and up the stairs through the tourist information shop and out into the noonday sun.

Just as they were about to get into a cab, Sergeant Andy Davidson came around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at Ianto for a minute before approaching the pair. "Jack!" he said suddenly.

"Sergeant Andy," Jack said, turning to nod in his direction as Ianto got into the backseat of the cab. "How are you today?"

"Good," Andy said, watching Ianto careful.

Ianto noticed the stares and addressed him from the car. "Yes, Andy, it's me. You can stop staring any time."

"But," Andy started. He looked back and forth between Jack and Ianto a few times while gathering his wits. "But, I was to your _funeral_, wasn't I?"

Ianto nodded. "I was to my own funeral. Not something a lot of people can say."

"So, you didn't die? Just pretended to?" Andy was clearly quite frazzled at the situation.

"Oh, no, I died." Ianto said earnestly as Jack got into the car.

"But, you're _not _dead."

"Nope," Ianto said shortly and Jack closed the door before Andy could respond.

"Cardiff Central," Jack said to the driver as he pulled out. Ianto watched Andy in the rearview mirror standing open-mouthed in the middle of Roald Dahl Plass. They turned the corner and Ianto looked at Jack who was smirking wildly.

"Cardiff Central? We're taking the train?"

Jack smiled. "Yep."

"Where are we going?" Ianto asked, impatiently.

"London," Jack said simply.

"London?" Ianto asked, shocked.

"Haven't been there in about a year."

"Shouldn't think so," Ianto said, eyeing Jack suspiciously. "Why are we going to London?"

"It's a surprise," Jack said with a smile. He took out his phone and sent a text to Gwen, letting her know that he and Ianto were leaving the city for the rest of the day and to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. He then looked at his watch. "1:30. We've got plenty of time."

"When's the train then?"

"I believe on Saturdays the direct leaves at 2:25," Jack said, turning pack to his phone. He didn't look up again until just before they arrived at the station when he smiled briefly and slid the phone back into his pocket and turned to Ianto with a smile. He reached across the seat and intertwined their fingers.

"So, we're going to London for no reason at all other than we can?" Ianto asked as the cab joined the drop off queue at the train station.

"Yep," Jack said with a nod.

"So, what are we doing when we get to London then?"

"It's a surprise, Ianto," Jack said with a mischievous grin as the cabbie parked near the entrance of the station.

"That'll be 6 quid," the cabbie said through the open window.

"Thank you, sir," Jack said handing the man his money and closing the door. As the cab pulled away, Jack took Ianto by the hand and led him into the station where he purchased two tickets on the 2:25 train to London. They spent the next 45 minutes or so wandering around the shops inside the station as they waited for their train. Jack still refused to tell Ianto anything about his plans once they reached London.

As it turned out, when Jack had been looking at his phone in the cab he'd been reserving a table for dinner. They spent a few hours wandering the streets of London, shopping and just talking before heading to the Delaunay for a rather fancy dinner date. After dinner they roamed the streets of London for a little while longer and took a ride on the London Eye before the 10:00 train back to Cardiff.

It was a little before midnight when the train pulled out of Newport Station, its last stop before Cardiff Central, and Ianto had fallen asleep during the relatively short journey. Jack kissed the top of Ianto's head which was laying on his shoulder, but he did not stir. Jack laughed slightly and shrugged his shoulder gently.

"Hmm?" Ianto said drowsily, not moving his head from Jack's shoulder.

"Just left Newport," Jack said softly. "We'll be to Cardiff in about 20 minutes."

"Oh," Ianto mumbled, snuggling into Jack's side. Jack laughed and wrapped his arm around Ianto, causing Ianto's head to move to Jack's chest rather than shoulder.

"You're going to have to wake up," Jack said as he squeezed Ianto closer to him.

"I know," Ianto mumbled into the collar of Jack's coat as he wrapped his arms around Jack's middle.

They mumbled sleepily to each other until the train slowed on its approach to Cardiff Central. Ianto sat up and stretched with a wide yawn, which Jack followed with a yawn of his own. When the train finally came to a halt the two got to their feet and traipsed lazily onto the platform. Jack took Ianto's hand and headed for the exit as the train pulled away. Jack hailed a taxi again and soon they were back at Roald Dahl Plass, meandering towards the Tourist Information shop that hid the entrance to Torchwood.

"Today was fun," Ianto said as Jack turned the key in the lock.

"Yeah," Jack said, opening the door. "It really was. We should have days like this more often." Once they were inside the little shop was when Jack noticed something was off. The secret door leading to the stone corridor off the shop was open and Jack was sure he'd closed it when they left. Jack froze in his tracks, two steps inside the door and Ianto nearly ran into the back of him when he did.

"What is it?" Ianto said, quite loudly. "Why'd you stop?"

Jack held a finger up to his lips and pulled out his gun.

"What?" Ianto whispered. Jack nodded towards the open door. Ianto's eyes widened and he drew his own gun as they carefully approached the opening. The corridor was empty, but the door to the Hub was open and the circular vault door was rolled to the side. They stopped just inside the first door. Jack pointed to Ianto and nodded to the right and then turned to the left. With a final nod they enter the main room of the Hub guns drawn. As soon as Jack turned the corner he spotted movement out of the corner of his eyes and whirled around to face the intruder.

"Whoa! Guns aren't necessary."

Jack lowered his weapon, "Ianto, we're clear!" he called out towards the other side of the Hub and Ianto came running, stowing his gun as he did.

"What are you doing here?" Ianto said, arriving next to Jack and reaching for his gun again.

The intruder didn't answer. Jack gave him a meaningful look. "Answer the question."

"I only came to visit," he said taking a step back as Ianto pulled his gun back out. "Don't want to cause problems. Missed you, that's all."

Jack's face twitched and Ianto went to raise his gun again. Jack reached out and pushed the gun down. "You're not shooting him, Ianto."

"But," Ianto started. "He broke in and in case you don't remember. He tried to _kill you_ last year."

Captain John Hart didn't seem to have aged since their last encounter, at least not noticeably. He smirked at Ianto. "Eye candy! Thought you died! Taking lessons from Jack now, are you?"

"He has a name," Jack said indignantly. "He did die, but he's not dead anymore as you can clearly see. What are you really doing here, John?"

"Ooh," John said with a smirk, turning to looking at Jack. "So defensive of your eye candy."

"He's not just eye candy, John. Now, what…are…you…doing…here?" Jack enunciated each word carefully as he dropped his hand from Ianto's gun.

"I missed you," John said flirtatiously. Jack grimaced and stared. "But it's true! I was in Mexico, selling some alien artifacts for a large profit. I've been there for a few years, the business is booming. I heard about Eye Candy dying, saw you did, too." He smirked again. "Thought I'd come and see how you were doing."

"You only just heard about that?" Jack asked.

"No," John admitted sheepishly. "Year ago. Wanted to give you time to grieve. Or…you know…my vortex manipulator might be acting up slightly. Whichever."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Leave."

"But I only just got here, Jack! Don't you want to talk about old times or have dinner or something?" He eyed Ianto carefully as he spoke. His intentions however were clear behind his words.

Jack raised his gun again. "Leave. Now. And don't come back again."

John sighed. "But, Jaaaaaack," he whined pathetically.

"But nothing. I don't miss you. Never missed you. Leave." Ianto smirked as Jack spoke. "Now."

"Whatchu smirking at Eye Candy? Think you're better than me, do ya?" John took a step towards Ianto. Ianto raised his gun in John's face.

"He is better than you," Jack said quietly, regretting it immediately as John pulled a gun of his own on Ianto and then turned it on Jack. Jack aimed his gun at John's heart, finger lingering on the trigger. "Leave. Now. Or I will shoot you."

"You wouldn't do that, Jack. Didn't let Eye Candy shoot me. You're not going to do it either." John winked.

Jack stared at him with a straight face for a moment and then fired a shot right past John's leg into the concrete floor. "Leave," Jack said. "Or that will be you." John smirked and turned back to Ianto. "You take one more step towards him and you won't get the chance to leave here. Not alive anyway." John defiantly stepped closer to Ianto, whose gun was pointed at his chest. Jack pulled the trigger on his own gun, hitting John in the side of his knee. "I said, 'Leave.'"

John grasped his knee as he fell to the hard floor.

"Leave," Jack repeated. "And do _not_ come back."

"But I miss you, Jack."

"And I shot you. I think that should make my feelings on the matter clear. Now go before I do it again." Jack was beginning to lose his patience.

"But, Jack," John whined again.

"And I won't be so kind about the aim this time," Jack added, aiming his gun pointedly at John's crotch. "I know you're rather attached, so you might consider leaving. Now. And if you should _ever_ think about showing up here or anywhere I am in the future," he said. "I don't plan on stopping Ianto from shooting you again. Leave."

John swallowed hard and stared lustfully at Jack's face for a moment before pressing a few buttons on his vortex manipulator and disappearing into nothing.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, turning to Ianto.

Ianto smiled. "I'm not." Jack looked at Ianto inquisitively and Ianto smirked. "He's gone and he won't be back. And I didn't have to kill him to accomplish it." A smiled tugged at Jack's mouth as Ianto continued. "I love you, Jack."

The smile broke of Jack's face as he pulled Ianto into a tight hug with both arms. "I love _you_, Ianto Jones. Always will."


	8. Sunday

"I'm going to run up to the store. I'll be back in a bit," Jack said as he put his coat on the next morning.

"Alright. I'll make coffee," Ianto said, heading towards the kitchen. It seemed like life at the Torchwood Hub might finally be back to normal.

Jack smiled to himself as he hurried up the stairs leading to the plaza above. He headed towards the Mermaid Quay building and stopped at Tesco Express. He purchased a few items, food mostly, and headed back towards the Hub.

"Ianto?" Jack called as the door rolled open. No answer. He headed towards the kitchen, calling out Ianto's name as he went, but Ianto didn't answer. When Jack reached the kitchen he froze in his tracks. On the far wall, written in what looked like blood was a note addressed to him.

"Jack, I don't take no for an answer. You should have known that. All my love." It was signed with a big red heart, but no name.

Jack, took a sample of the substance off the wall and headed towards the lab. After a quick scan, his original thought and fear was confirmed. It was in fact written in blood. The computer database also confirmed, that it was the blood of Ianto Jones. Jack sat and stared at the screen for a moment, before he thought of something. He logged into the main computer network and started combing the CCTV from the kitchen for the time he was gone.

Only a few minutes after he had left, he found what he was looking for. Ianto was making coffee as he said he would when Captain John Hart appeared out of thin air in the kitchen and held a gun to Ianto's head. Ianto appeared to try to fight back, but John injected him with something that caused him to collapse to the floor. John used a kitchen knife to slice open one of Ianto's arms and used the blood to write the message to Jack on the wall. He smiled, seductively at the camera, grabbed Ianto's wrist and teleported them both away using his vortex manipulator.

Jack watched the sequences over and over again at every speed, trying to find anything that might tell him when John had taken Ianto, or when even. He knew that his chances of finding Ianto were slim to none without at least a general idea of where they'd gone, but he had nothing to work with. Jack tried calling Ianto's phone, but heard it ringing across the hub. He'd set it on the counter in the kitchen while he was making the coffee. Jack picked up the phone and looked at it, wondering if maybe Ianto had left him some sort of clue, but how could he have. Jack had watched the whole encounter on the CCTV footage a dozen times, and not once did Ianto have even a chance to reach for his phone, nevertheless he pocketed the phone and walked back to his office, deep in thought.

Now that he was certain, Ianto was just as immortal as he was, Jack could afford the time to plan his search and rescue mission careful without worrying about the precious seconds of Ianto's life ticking away. Though, that didn't mean he wasn't in a hurry to find Ianto. He didn't want to have to live without him for very long. Certainly never as long as he had been forced to with Ianto's first death.

When Jack reached his desk and flopped into the chair, he was still deep in thought. He watched the footage one more time as slow as he could, evaluating it frame by frame, but saw nothing new. Perhaps what he needed was a fresh set of eyes. He phoned Gwen.

"Jack? What is it?" Gwen said answering the phone as she handed Emily to Rhys.

"Ianto."

"What? What about Ianto?"

"He's gone."

"What do you mean? Thought he was immortal like you?"

"Not that kind of gone. Though, I suppose I can't say for sure."

"What happened, Jack? What's going on?" Gwen asked as she reached for her jacket and Emily's on the coat hooks near the front door, before turning back towards the sitting room where Rhys was pacing anxiously with Emily in his arms.

"It's a long story. Can you guys get here? Quick as you can."

"We're on our way, Jack. The Hub?"

"Yes," he answered flatly. His head falling into his hand.

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes, if not sooner."

"I'm sorry to call you in after I told you to have off," Jack started.

"Don't worry about it, Jack. Didn't feel right not working yesterday. See you soon," she said as she ended the call and slid her phone back into her pocket.

"What's going on?" Rhys asked, returning from getting his own coat and picking up Emily in her car seat which Gwen had fastened the straps of.

"Ianto's missing or something. Jack sounded really concerned."

"But he's only just come back," Rhys muttered as they headed for the door.

"Hazard of the job, I suppose," Gwen said opening the back door of the car for Rhys to put Emily in then getting in the passenger's seat herself. Rhys closed the back door and got in to drive.

"Where we going?"

"The Hub," Gwen said, looking at her phone. "He said to come as quick as we could." Rhys nodded and sped off towards the bay.

"Jack?" Gwen called out as the door rolled open. Rhys followed his wife into the Hub, carrying Emily in her car seat.

"My office," Jack said, just loud enough to be heard. He was still sitting behind his desk watching the CCTV footage, over and over again. He'd even gone so far as to watch the same time range of footage on other cameras throughout the Hub. He wasn't sure what he thought he'd see, but it was better than doing nothing.

Gwen and Rhys came around the corner a second later and Rhys dropped the car seat on one of the armchairs just inside the door. Jack looked up from the computer monitor as they entered.

"What happened?" Gwen asked, walking closer to Jack's desk.

"Last night, when we got back from London, the inside doors were open."

"What?" Rhys said, picking Emily up from the car seat and walking over to the desk. "How is that possible? Did you leave them open when you left?"

"No," Jack said flatly. "We got down here and I turned the corner towards the stairs and there was Captain John Hart."

"WHAT?" Gwen shouted. "How did he get in here?"

Jack waved his vortex manipulator. "One of these. He managed to teleport to inside the tourist shop and then it was pretty simple. We should really make that more secure," Jack said thoughtfully. "But we convinced him to leave. I shot him in the kneecap first though. Told him to never come near me again or I wouldn't be so kind."

"Okay," Rhys said, carefully, "but what does this have to do with Ianto?"

"Everything," Jack said, whirling his computer monitor around for them to see. "This morning I went up to the Quay to get some food and whatnot and when I got back, I found _this_ in the kitchen," he said as he brought up the image of the message."

"I don't take no for an answer. You should have known that. All my love." Rhys read out loud as he looked up at Jack's face.

"I should have," Jack said, sorrowfully. "He's got that much right."

"But," Gwen started. "What's it written with?"

"Blood," Jack answered. "Ianto's blood."

"WHAT?" Rhys said, rather more loudly than he initially planned. Jack didn't answer. He instead replayed the footage from the CCTV for Gwen and Rhys. The same footage he had been watching on repeat for the past many hours. "So, he injected him with some kind of neurotoxin and then cut him open to use his blood for ink?" Jack nodded. Rhys's face when pale and Gwen stared curiously at the screen.

"But where did he take him?" Gwen asked, trying to get a closer look at the monitor. "Is there a way to track the manipulator?"

Jack shook his head. "I have no idea. I just feel so bad. I shouldn't have let Ianto here alone. I shouldn't have let John leave alive last night."

"It's not your fault, Jack," Gwen said, patting his arm gingerly. "We'll find him."

"I know we will," Jack said, confidently.

"How are we going to do this?"

"I want to start," Jack said thoughtfully, but running the combination of John's and Ianto's faces through all CCTV records. The vortex manipulator isn't only a teleport it's also good for time travel, so it'll have to be all of them. If they've gone somewhere on earth in recent history or the future, we should be able to find them, but it'll take time. We should start with the present and work our way back and then forward." Gwen nodded.

"Did he say where or when he'd been? Anywhere he might have taken him."

Jack thought for a moment. "Mexico. He said he's spent the past few decades in Mexico selling space junk at a profit. Lucrative business. He wouldn't just give that up," Jack said. "We can start there."

"Where in Mexico?" Gwen asked as they walked back towards the main workstations.

"Didn't say. But Mexico is better than the whole world," Jack said. Gwen and Rhys sat at their workstations and Jack took one of the extras.

"When should we start the search?" Rhys asked as he logged into the system.

"This morning. 9:00 to be safe. That's about 30 minutes before he arrived." Rhys nodded and they got to work.

It was a very nerve racking wait, but 10 minutes later. "I've got them!" Gwen shouted.

"Where? When?" Jack asked, jumping up and heading to Gwen's station.

"Warehouse in the Industrial area of Veracruz. Right behind the airport," she said, replaying the footage.

John arrived, standing over Ianto's still immobilized body, gripping his wrist. He seemed to call out towards one of the nearby warehouses and then two Mexican men appeared and picked up Ianto by his feet and shoulders and carried him into the building which they'd just exited with John following close behind.

"I can only safely that three total," Jack said fiddling with his vortex manipulator. "One of you has to stay here with Emily anyway."

"I'll stay," Rhys said, picking Emily up from her basinet. Gwen nodded and walked over to Jack.

"What do we do?" she asked.

Jack looked up at her and tried to smile. "Take my hand," he said reaching for her with his left hand. He programmed the manipulator with his right hand. "Ready?" she nodded. "Alright. See you, Rhys. We'll be back soon."

"Bye then," Rhys said, holding Emily closer.

"Mummy will be back, Emily, love," Gwen said, sweetly. "I love you both."

"I love you, too."

Jack pressed one last button and with that, they disappeared from sight and a moment later and no worse for wear were standing in the same ally where the CCTV camera had shown them John and Ianto a few minutes prior.

"Time?" Gwen said looking up. Slightly flustered from the new form of travel.

"About 5 minutes after they arrived."

"Good," she said, pulling her gun out and turning towards the warehouse on their right. Jack pulled his gun and they approached either side of the door.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready."

"1, 2, 3." Jack kicked the door in and they entered to find a warehouse full of 20 or 30 foot tall shelving units piled with all sorts of items. Most of which they recognized, but some of which was foreign even to Torchwood's eyes. No one was there, or so it seem. Jack nodded to the right of the door and Gwen nodded in return. He then turned to the left and put his back to the shelves. Gwen did the same to the right. They made their way carefully across the space, checking each aisle before moving to the next. No one was in the warehouse.

"Clear," Gwen said with a deep sigh.

"Clear," Jack echoed.

"Do we have the wrong building?"

"Don't think so," Jack mumbled. "Look at this stuff."

"Then where'd they go? I didn't see any other way out."

Jack looked confused for a moment before he looked up the center aisle and smirked to himself. He then nodded towards a trap door in the center of the room. Barely visible in the concrete floor. They approached quickly and Gwen tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't move.

"Probably sonic," Jack said. He opened his manipulator and scanned the door. "Nope," he said with a laugh. "Security coded. Lucky for us, John has always used the same code for every door he's ever locked." Jack laughed as he punched the numbers into his manipulator and watched the door swing upwards. It revealed a short drop to a narrow passageway leading down further into the earth.

Jack lowered himself into the passageway beneath and then helped Gwen down. They followed the passage in the only way it lead, eventually ending up at a solid metal door with a keypad next to it. Jack smirked and entered the same code into the pad. The door swung towards them and they hurried movement from the other side. With their guns still at the ready they went through the door. The room was a deserted stone chamber with a small corridor leading off the opposite side.

They crossed the chamber quickly and stepped into the corridor, only to find Captain John Hart immediately in their faces. He unarmed, Gwen with ease, but Jack had been expecting this and wasn't so easily fooled. He fired his gun downwards shooting John's foot. John hopped backwards in surprise more than pain, giving Jack enough time to toss Gwen her gun back, as John had dropped it as he struggled with Jack.

"Where is here?" Jack demanded.

"Who?" John said, flirtatiously, approaching Jack.

"You know very well who."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you do," Gwen said angrily.

"I will shoot you and I will kill you," Jack said sternly. "Tell me where he is." John said nothing, he only stared longingly into Jack's face. "Tell me. NOW!"

"Oh, alright," John said with a small smile. "But you're too late." He looked at his manipulator for the time. "About five minutes. You're little eye candy friend, is bleeding out in his death chamber as we speak."

Jack's face went from anger to complete and udder rage in a matter of moments. "Tell me. Where. He. Is."

"Third door on the right," John said as he stepped to the side with a smile.

"Gwen, keep you gun on him. Don't let your guard down for a moment. I'll be back." Jack shuffled past John and walked down the hall to the third door. He jiggled the knob, but it was locked. He turned around. "The key," he demanded.

"No," John said flatly.

"Give me _the key_. NOW!"

"No," John said again.

"Gwen?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Shoot his other foot." Gwen fired a shot into John's left foot. "Now, give me the key."

"No," John persisted.

Jack whirled around and aimed his gun and shot the last place John wanted to be shot. He fell to his knees with a scream of anguish staring down at his mutilated genitals as the floor pooled with his blood.

"The key." Jack said, walking back towards him.

"No," John whimpered.

"Give me the key or I will kill you, right now." He aimed his gun at John's chest.

"Oh, fine. Alright. Here," John said through pained cries. He produces a gold key from his coat pocket and handed it feebly to Jack.

Once the key was in his hand, Jack turned back to Gwen. "Keep you gun on him." She nodded. Jack walked back to the door and fumbled with the key until he got it into the lock and turned it. When the door opened he saw what was quite possibly his worst nightmare come to life. Ianto Jones was lying dead, flat on his back, at the center of a large stone table. "Shoot him," he said feebly, stumbling towards Ianto's deathbed, tears starting to fall from his eyes. Three shots rang through the corridor and Gwen burst through the door next moment. Her eyes widened at the sight of her dead colleague. And she fell back against the cold stone wall, sliding to the floor.

"I'm so, so, sorry, Ianto," Jack mumbled.

There were four clear bullet wounds. One to each hip and one to each shoulder. Jack looked more closely at the wound on Ianto's left shoulder and noticed the skin was starting to heal. He smiled slightly and cradled Ianto's head in his arms. "Come on, my love. Breath," he said softly, kissing Ianto's forehead. He stood there, holding Ianto in his arms for almost five minutes, before finally he sat up, gasping for air.

"Jack?" he breathed looking around the room. "Gwen?"

"Ianto!" Gwen said, stumbling to her feet.

"You. Found. Me," Ianto said through heavy breaths.

"Of course we found you," Jack said, forcing a small smile. "I only wish it would have been sooner. I'm so sorry, Ianto."

"Why are _you _sorry, Jack?"

"I should have known he'd come back. He never did know how to take no for an answer. I shouldn't have left you there alone."

"Jack," Ianto said throwing his arms around Jack's neck. "It's not your fault."

"But it _is_, Ianto."

"No," Ianto said, shaking his head. "It's really not." He kissed Jack, sweetly, before turning red in the face as he looked over at Gwen near the door. She smiled at them. "How did you get her so fast anyway?"

Jack held up his vortex manipulator. "Same way you did."

"Where are we anyway?"

"Veracruz, Mexico," Gwen supplied, stepping closer.

"Where's Rhys then? And Emily?" Ianto asked, looking around.

"Cardiff," Jack said. "Can only take three safely. It's not even very comfortable with three anyway, but it can be done." He smiled at Ianto. "Ready to go home?"

Ianto nodded. Clearly distraught by the day's events.

Jack took Ianto's hand with his left and told Gwen to grab hold of his hand as well and then programmed the manipulator with his right hand for about 5 minutes after they'd left. "Ready?" They both nodded. Oh, wait. Ianto, you should stand up. This won't work to well. You lying in midair in the Hub." They laughed together as Ianto got to his feet and they joined hands again. "Okay now. Ready?"

"Ready," Gwen said with a stiff nod.

"Ready," Ianto echoed.

Jack pressed the button again and as quickly as they were gone from Mexico they found themselves standing in the middle of the Hub, clenching their sides at the pain of time travel without a capsule.

"Weren't kidding about the discomfort," Gwen said, stumbling forward to where Rhys was sitting at his desk, holding Emily against his chest as she slept. She kissed the top of Emily's head and then kissed Rhys on the lips. By the time she turned around again, Jack and Ianto were no longer clutching their sides in pain, but were entwined in a rather awkward position for such a public place. Gwen cleared her throat.

Ianto went red in the face again as he stepped back for Jack. Jack smirked at Gwen and headed towards his office. "Coming, Ianto? We've got work to do."

"Coming, Sir." Ianto said, with his most impressive mock-professionalism.

"See you tomorrow, everyone," Jack said with a smile. "Go home. Get some rest. I'm sorry I called you in."

"Don't be. We had to go and rescue him," Gwen said nodding towards Ianto as Rhys stood and carried Emily towards her car seat.

Ianto followed Jack into his office and Jack snapped the door shut behind him.


End file.
